


Phoenixes And Owl Are Pretty Similar If You Think About It, Right?

by CherryBerryKomainu



Series: Silk And Sword And Swindling [4]
Category: Dororo (Anime 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everyone Needs A Hug, Hey I’m mad about the ending and spite fuels me to fix it, Kokodo eats Daigo in the first scene, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Tahomaru deserved better, kinda graphic so tagging to be safe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-25
Updated: 2019-06-25
Packaged: 2020-05-19 07:20:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19352167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CherryBerryKomainu/pseuds/CherryBerryKomainu
Summary: Often times, people claim that those who survive fire, are reborn like a Phoenix. According to folklore, infants who have died turn into owls.Tahomaru may not have survived the fire, but he still has a second chance.





	Phoenixes And Owl Are Pretty Similar If You Think About It, Right?

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place before the timeskip on ep 24, and considers the final scene of Hyakkimaru and Dororo reuniting non-canon.
> 
> Also with this we begin an actual consistent plot line for SASAS!

The sound of flesh being ripped and bones being crunched filled the Hall Of Hell, a small bloody statue had been knocked aside, and before the broken demon statues, an insectoid being, named Kokodo, feasted upon Daigo. 

Her body was dyed by ash and charcoal, burnt in many places, and her tattered moth wings hung limply at her back. Fresh blood covered her mouth and hands, dying her teeth pink. 

Briefly she turned to face the statues, setting her sights on two particular figures. Both in the shape of moth monsters. The demon woman wiped the red off her mouth with her kimono sleeve. 

“Can you see me through those cracked eyes, Mother?” She asked the bigger of the moth statues. “You must be having quite a laugh… I am truly as foolish as you called me back then.” The demon ripped into Daigo’s chest, crushing his rib bones into dust and swallowing it. “I thought humans and demons could live together, and now, just as you said, my journey has proven to me how stupid that idea was.” She chuckled sadly, feeling foolish for talking to a statue. “I cannot love them, and they cannot love me, I have no choice but to face that. There is no path for me besides killing them.” 

Kokodo ripped the heart out of the corrupt Lords chest, smiling as she held the fragile live giving organ in her fangs. With a quick chomp, she burst the organ, sending a spray of blood everywhere. 

She had come here hoping to find Hyakkimaru, but she had just missed him. And for some reason she could not understand, she had felt the fight leave her body. Her love gone, left without a word, left Dororo without a word. He was only a child, did he not care for the one he once saw as a little brother?

What had happened in the palace? She could not ask, there was no one to ask, every human she came across attempted to take her life, and she could not risk Dororo being hurt due to knowing her by coming to him.

So, she was alone, lingering around the long burnt out remains of the castle, willing time to rewind. Left to wonder what she could’ve done to help, instead of staying behind, refusing to go to Daigo. Maybe if she insisted more? Could she have convinced Hyakkimaru to calm himself?

‘Screeee!’

Kokodo whipped her head around at the wail of an owl. It was day, why would an owl be awake now? And why did it’s cry sound so human…?

Again the sound of the owl came from outside the Hall of Hell, and the demon inside left the half-eaten body of the lord to investigate.

The screeching wail sung loud across the treeless expanse of the palace grounds, she could not pinpoint its location, yet the heartrending cry kept her from walking away.

When she came across three charred corpses trapped under burnt wood, she found the source. 

A one eyed owl, ash black feathered with spots of red, was perched on the wood, crying at the sky.

Kokodo felt tears build in her eyes, the crying of the owl spoke to her; ‘I wanted to live! I tried my best! Why did she leave me? I only wanted to be loved!’

Tatarimokke, this was a Tatarimokke, not a normal owl. The spirit of a dead baby in the body of an owl, yet, this one spoke clearly, and it did not feel like a new soul. Why was it here of all places?

‘Mutsu!’ It cried. ‘Hyogo! Come back! Please! Don’t leave me here alone! I’m scared! It burns so badly! I couldn’t breath! I wanted to leave!’ 

Was this… Tahomaru? Surely it couldn’t be, Tahomaru was not a baby, he was a teen! Yet, this Tatarimokke called out for the names of Tahomaru’s friends. 

Kokodo took note at the positions of the corpses, and understanding hit her like a hammer. 

This WAS Tahomaru! His corpse was right there! With Jukai and Nui! And… oh…

“How could she?” Kokodo whispered as she stared at the scene before her, the adult corpses were in the positions of acceptance, they had not tried to escape the fire, and the teen corpse was set in an injured form. “She just let you burn with her?”

The owl swung its head around, staring at Kokodo, who stared back. Tahomaru cried out again. ‘She held him first! She ignored me as I lay bleeding! She helped him escape! But not me! She never cared for me-‘ Kokodo suddenly embraced the Tatarimokke, tears falling silently. She had never met Hyakkimaru’s younger biological brother, but she had heard of him, and as she looked at the owl in her arms, she felt so much sympathy for the poor boy.

“Tahomaru… I am so, so sorry… you did not deserve this death, especially so young…” Kokodo spoke softly, stroking the Yokai’s feathers. “You are not alone, not anymore.” Tahomaru slowly ceased his wailing as the demon comforted him. “You may not be human anymore, but you are still alive, your life is not over yet. Come with me, I will keep you company, no human shall hurt you again.” She promised. 

‘I want to see him.’ Tahomaru spoke. ‘I want to know why people cared for him so much… please… take me to Hyakkimaru’s brother…’ he begged. 

“The humans will strike you down, their hatred for demons has grown so much…” Kokodo tried to explain.

‘I do not care!’ He shrieked. ‘I am used to hate! I am strong enough to handle it! And I must know! I must know what made him more worthy of love then me!’

Once again, Kokodo felt tears prickle in her eyes, he was so devastated, she could not defy him, not over such a simple request. 

“Dororo, has met good demons before, I do not think he will harm you, he is a kind soul…” She said, a pang in her heart as she remembered the young boy she had thought of as a sibling. She had abandoned him to Hyakkimaru when he was unstable. She should have been there for him. Was he even still alive? “I’ll take you to him.” She had to find him, not only for Tahomaru’s sake but her own.

‘Thank you…’ the Yokai chirped, before swaying in Kokodo’s arms and collapsing from exhaustion. 

Carefully, she held him to her chest as she stood up. Perhaps, she was right? She remembered Dororo fondly, how could she have forgotten him? He accepted her even though she was a demon, and while he was a rare case, times were changing. 

Could demons and humans work together? Was it possible this land could be brought back to health by uniting?

The chance was small, but Kokodo held onto it as she began to walk, she would not give up. Not yet. She still had to make up for abandoning Hyakkimaru and Dororo, she owed them that, at the very least.


End file.
